ALTONA has survived a tricky encounter with arch-rivals Werribee on the road at Chirnside Park in the Bowls Victoria premier division.
The A’s were threatened after the break but steadied to win 93-72.
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A’s skip Brett Dodd told the Weekly it was no easy assignment venturing into Wyndham territory.
“We knew they’d be fired up,” Dodd said, in reference to a number of players who left the Bees to join the A’s in the off season.
“Not only that, they hadn’t lost a game on their home green. They’re in pretty good form as well.”
A distinct advantage the Bees have over most opponents is their artificial surface. That was almost cancelled out as the A’s have their own ‘plastic’ surface to train on.
Still, the A’s play all their matches on grass, and Dodd was impressed with his side’s ability to adapt.
“They’re a 20-shot better side at home, for sure,” he said of his former club. “Our blokes more than matched them and kicked away when it got quicker late in the day.”
Brenton Coad produced a stunning performance alongside Ben Loughlin, Farris Derrij and Brett Foley. The “on-fire” A’s quartet took it to Mick O’Neil in a 32-15 thrashing. Dodd’s own rink brought down the in-form Ben Major. “I said to our guys before the game that Benny’s rink had probably been their best performing and if we could get on top of them it would go a long way towards the side winning the game,” he said.
David Zitter made it three from four rinks with a 27-19 edging of Snowy Barker.
The A’s have hit top gear after a slow start. They have a tough run-in to Christmas and welcome the challenges coming their way, starting with Essendon at home on Saturday.
“At the start of the year we were all over the place with a lot of new blokes,” Dodd said. “We think it’s going to be a good test to see where we’re at.”
Meanwhile, Footscray-Yarraville has moved to the top of the division 1 section 2 ladder with a five-shot win over previous ladder leader Deer Park in a western derby.
BOWLS VICTORIA
Premier division: Werribee 72 lt Altona 93
Division 1: Kingsbury 131 d Footscray Park-Rosamond 49; Deer Park 75 lt Yarraville-Footscray 80
Division 2: Williamstown 88 d Flemington-Kensington 69
Division 3: Melton (2) 79 lt Newport 82; Werribee (3) 83 d ALtona Sports 80
Division 4: City of Melbourne 74 lt Laverton 81
Division 5: Altona North 69 lt Deer Park (2) 96
